Apparatus for conveying loads from one level to another.



PATENTE!) SEPT. 17, 1907.

Noi 866,475.

` E. KEINER. APPARATUS EOE CONVEYING LoADs EEoM ONE LEVEL To ANoTE APPLIUATION FILED 00T.1. 1908.

rn: mams PETERS cn., wAsHluaroNfna .UNITED sTATEs` PATENT oEEIoE.

EDUARD KEIMER, OF BASEL, SWITZERLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE FIRM OF KEIMER & CO., OF

' ZURICH, SWITZERLAND.

APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING LOADS FROM ONE LEVEL TO ANOTHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application led October 1, 1906. Serial No. 336,985.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDUARD KEIMER, a citizen of the Swiss Republic, residing at Basel, Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Conveying Loads from One Level to Another, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for conveying loads from one level to another by means of two rails on each of which is adapted to travel a longitudinally movable carriage attached to an endless flexible member passing over wheels and pulleys, the said rails being normally connected to each other by a detachable cranked shaft which passes through the bosses of two wheelssupported by the said rails respectively, the arrangement being such that the distance between the rails can be adjusted and that lthe carriages can be moved along the rails by revolving the shaft.

The invention is illustrated in the annexed drawing by way of example, Figure l being an elevation and Fig. 2 a plan-view. Figs'. 3 to 7 illustrate details of construction partly in section.

The two parallel rails l are of channelviron and curved 'at their upper ends where each is provided with a hook 2 the lower end being provided with a shoe 3. Near the upper end of each rail a bearing 4 is provided ior a sprocket wheel 5 (see more particularly Fig. 7) provided with a boss for the reception of a squared crank-shaft 6. The latter is removable and is common to both sprocket wheels 5 and to oneof said wheels 5 is lixed a ratchet-wheel 7 adapted to coact with a pawl 8 pivotally connected to the respective rail (Figs. 2 and 5).

Along each rail extends an endless flexible member, one half of which consists of a chain 9, and the other half of a wire rope 10, the chain 9 passing over the respective wheel 5, and the rope passing over a pulley or roller 17 at the lower end of the rail. Each rail supports a carriage or trolley l1 provided with wheels l5 l5LL and adapted to travel on the upper surface of the rail, the load to be moved being carried by both the carriages together.

One end of each carriage 11 rests upon the respective rail-surface, the wheel 15 at this end being located be tween two lugs l2 which project downwards parallel with the sides of the rail. The other wheel 15EL is mounted in a yoke 13, the arms of which also project downwards at the sides of the rail. The bifurcated end of a supporting bar 14 is fixed to the carriage 11 adjacent the yoke 13, the said bar being provided with longitudinal slots 14En for the passage of a bolt or pin 11L passing through the bar, so that the latter 14 can be ro tated from a substantially vertical'position into the position indicated by dotted lines at the right hand side of Fig'. 1. In the former position the bar 14 is locked 'by the abutment of its lower biiurcated end against the yoke 13.

The yoke 13 of each carriage is attached to the respective chain 9, and the crank 16 at one end of the shaft 6 is provided with a handle 161.

For the purpose of elevating, for example, a Cask O from the ground to the floor of a dray V, the two rails l are placed in the inclined position illustrated in Fig. 1, with the hooks 2 resting on the edge of the said floor and the shoes 3 resting on the ground, the rails ybeing parallel with each other, so that an inclined track is formed from the ground to the 'loor of said dray. At this stage of the operation the carriages l1 occupy the position indicated by dotted lines at the right hand side in Fig. l, the bars 14 having been rotated so that their free ends rest upon the ground. The shaft 6 is inserted into the bosses of the sprocket wheels 5 and the cask is rolled up the bars 14 by hand on to the carriages 11, the said bars being thereupon moved into a substantially upright position, in which they are locked in the manner already described, in order to serve as supports for the cask. The shaft 6 is then revolved by means `of the handle 16, so that the carriages Il are moved up the inclined track by means of the chains 9. At the upper end of the track the cask is rolled off the carriages on to the `[ioor of the dray.

It is obvious that the apparatus described enables a single workman to manipulate comparatively heavy loads with ease and without danger. The distance between the two rails can be adjusted according to the dimensions of the load.

The apparatus can also be used for conveying loads from an elevated plane to a lower plane.

The fact that the two rails are entirely disconnected from each other when the shaft 6 has been withdrawn renders the apparatus easily portable.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States isz- Apparatus for conveying` loads from one level to another comprising two relatively adjustable parallel channeled rails curved at one end, shoes at the other end of said rails, a Wheeled carriage adapted to move longitudinally on each of said rails, a load supporting bar pivoted to each carriage, anendless iexible member located in the channel of each rail and connected to the respective carriage, sprocket wheels mounted in the rails over which said flexible members pass, pawl and ratchet gear in connection with one of said sprocket wheels, a removable shaft extending through said sprocket wheels and a crank handle for operating said shaft substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

EDUARD KEIMER.

Witnesses GEO. GIFEORD, ARBAGAsT SCHAUJ. 

